Two Judges Admit Taking Kickbacks to Send Juveniles to Detention Centers

Feb 16th, 2009 • Posted in: News

They face more than seven years in prison

WILKES-BARRE, Penn.
Two Pennsylvania judges last week pleaded guilty to taking $2.6 million in kickbacks. The reason, according to a report from USA Today: They were covertly paid to send juveniles to privately run detention centers.

The American Bar Association Journal reports that the two Luzerne County judges, former president judge Mark Ciavarella, Jr., and semi-retired judge Michael Conahan, entered their pleas in return for prison sentences of 87 months. They also will be disbarred.

Federal investigators say the two had financial interests in the juvenile centers to which they sent offenders, often ordering confinement when probation officers requested lesser sentences, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

A spokeswoman for the nonprofit Juvenile Law Center claimed that many of the juveniles who appeared before the judges received excessively harsh sentences, reports the BBC.

It is unclear whether any of the centers in question will face prosecution or are subjects of further investigation, according to the Post-Gazette.

In a related development, a class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of hundreds of children who appeared before the corrupt judges, reports MSNBC.

Sources: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 15 — AP, Feb. 14 — MSNBC, Feb. 13 — BBC, Feb. 13 — USA Today, Feb. 12 — ABA Journal, Feb. 12.

For more information, see: Related Newsline Commentary, Dec. 15, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 8, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 17, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 27, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 27, 2008.

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